How to create an application definition in NetScaler MAS

August 1, 2019

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You can define a custom application based on a collection of discovered applications in NetScaler MAS.

In NetScaler MAS, when you navigate to Application Dashboard, the Application Overview page displays default applications. These default applications or “discrete applications” are the 30 applications for which you have the default licenses. You discover these applications when you install NetScaler MAS in your business environment.

As you create “custom applications,” the custom applications replace the discrete applications. The custom applications are arranged on the dashboard according to the category you have chosen while creating them.

You can view these applications, both discovered and custom, in two ways - tree map and tiles.

You can create a custom application through either a static or dynamic configuration.

Static definition of applications - In a static definition, you can define an application. This definition does not get updated when new virtual servers are configured on your NetScaler instance. Manually update this list to include more virtual servers.

Dynamic definition of applications - In a dynamic definition, you can use one of the three criteria listed here to define an application:

Servers. Specify the following:

server or service IP address

server name,

the port of the backend server on which the applications are running.

You can enter one IP address, a range of IP addresses, or a combination of both separated by commas. For example, you can enter 10.102.29.20, 10.102.43.10-60, 10.216.43.45.

Virtual servers. You can specify either one of the following:

virtual server IP address

virtual server name, or

port of the backend server on which the applications are running.

You can enter one IP address or a range of IP addresses or a combination of both separated by commas. For example, you can enter 10.102.29.20, 10.102.43.10-60, 10.216.43.45.

StyleBooks. You can create custom applications by using either a default or custom StyleBook that is already present in the NetScaler MAS.

StyleBooks simplify the task of managing complex NetScaler configurations for your applications. Select a StyleBook that is present in NetScaler MAS.

Type in the StyleBook parameter values and click Create.

NetScaler MAS creates the configuration on the target NetScaler instances based on the selected StyleBook.

NetScaler MAS also creates a custom application that includes all the virtual servers defined in the configuration pack.

Note

A custom application and config pack are created if sufficient NetScaler licenses are available.

The new application gets updated in the Application Dashboard automatically when NetScaler MAS polls the entities. To initiate a poll manually, click Poll Now located in the Applications tab.

To create an application

In NetScaler MAS, navigate to Applications and click Define Custom App to create a custom application.

In the Define Application window, type the name of the application in the Name field.

Select the application category from the Category section. NetScaler MAS allows you to define categories to group the user-defined applications. You can also add more categories if necessary.

You can create a custom application in one of the following three methods:

Select Existing Applications. To select existing applications, make sure that Select Existing Applications option is enabled. Choose the application from the list in the Applications section. Click Add Applications to add new applications to the list.

Define Selection Criteria. You can also define a selection criterion to add applications in NetScaler MAS. You can add apps in one of the following three methods:

Specifying the IP address of the virtual server. You can enter one IP address or a range of IP addresses or a combination of both separated by commas.

Specifying the name of the server on which the applications or services are running.

Note

You can also search for server names by using wildcard extensions. For example, ssl* adds all ssl virtual servers to the application.

Specifying the port number at which the application is listening to on the selected server.

Create an application from StyleBook. Select the required StyleBook in NetScaler MAS to create config packs on the NetScaler instances and associate the virtual servers with a custom application.

Click OK. If you have opted to create applications from StyleBooks, the Choose StyleBook page opens. This page contains a list of all StyleBooks present in NetScaler MAS.

Select the required StyleBook. The StyleBook opens as a user interface form. Type the values for all parameters in the StyleBook. You can also click View Definition to view the construct of the StyleBook before using it.

A custom application and the config pack are now created on the NetScaler instances that you have selected in the target section in the StyleBook

Note

A custom application and config pack are created if sufficient NetScaler MAS licenses are available.

To auto-select virtual servers for licensing

Allow NetScaler MAS to auto select the virtual servers for licensing when you use the StyleBook option to create configurations. If you have not enabled auto-select, you might get an error message as shown in the following image:

When enabled, NetScaler MAS automatically selects the virtual servers to license. And when it is not enabled, you must explicitly select the virtual servers.

To view application details in NetScaler MAS

NetScaler MAS displays all details of an application in a separate pane known as App Info Panel.

The entities that are bound to the application that you have selected are arranged vertically in the App Info Panel pane. Vertically arranged boxes in the pane display the following:

name of each entity

the number of entities that are active

entities that are inactive

entities that are out of service

The entities that are displayed here are the virtual servers, services, service groups, and the application servers. The pane also displays other data as follows:

app score

data volume

throughput

both server and client connections

the transactions that happen in each application

You can view the count of virtual servers, services, service groups that are in different states for each application. Click the name of the entity or the displayed count to directly enable or disable the entities. Enable or disable other bound entities such as virtual servers, services, and service groups.

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